The Spider's Web
by PorcupineDirectory
Summary: How wrong can one party go? SPR are about to find out after being invited to a mansion for a housewarming party. Unfortunatly the vengeful ghosts in the house also want to join in the fun. But Masako can't see and Mai's dreams only confuse them more. R
1. A Wedding

**Just to warn you, this is my first fanfic story. Any mistakes please point them out, I won't get offended :) Please R&R**

* * *

Chapter 1

There had been a wedding. The whys and wherefores are not relevant to this story, and it was just a coincidence that he had been to the wedding. A string of coincidences that would ultimately lead to his death. The wedding itself was not important, in the same way it was not important that a train derailment at the other end of Japan caused 132 deaths and several more injuries, or that a group of school children had passed the day counting butterflies on their school trip.

The important bit was the fact that the wedding party finished late, and the man drove home late. He was unhappy as it was a long drive, but he had known the groom for many years. To be honest, it was worth it to see his friend's happy face.

But now he was driving in the dark, in his old car, with the radio turned down low. He did not sing, as he was a serious man, and serious men do not sing. He concentrated on the road. Damn it, it was dark. Thunder rumbled ominously overhead. Rain lashed down on the windscreen, as the wipers went mad and water streamed across the windows.

The lights flashed on brown hide, and he swerved to avoid the deer. The car bounced off the grassy verge, and rolled forward as he tried to break. The car came to a standstill, and the man rested his head on the steering wheel. He coaxed the engine back to life, and switched to reverse gear. The wheels turned, trying to gain a purchase on the soft mud, but to no avail. After trying a few more times he gave up and opened his door.

His foot sank into the mud. He squelched around the car. There was no way he would shift it by himself, not to mention it was pouring down, and he was already soaked. He pulled out his mobile, but, no luck, it was dead. He ran a hand through his hair thinking. Hadn't he passed a house a couple of miles back?

He trudged to the edge of the road, and started walking. He stumbled many times in the dark, following the grassy verge. Occasionally a car would flash past, spraying him, but he was already so wet he didn't notice. Eventually he made it to the house. Well, mansion would be more appropriate. He almost smiled at the clichés, before ringing the doorbell. Well, not all the clichés had been fulfilled.

A young man answered. Blimey, the door even creaked ominously.

"My car got stuck in mud, and I was wondering if I could use your phone?" He asked.

"Are you a guest?" The young man asked.

"No. But my car broke down and..."

"Yes, of course. Um, this way..." The young man moved aside and he walked in. At least there was decent lighting in the entrance hall, he thought. The man lead him through twisting corridors, passing other non-descript men and women, all dressed in black and white. There were also men and women, dressed in dresses and suits, rushing past him. The house was alive with activity. He dodged and swerved. Surely they must have a phone nearer the entrance hall? Or was it his fatigue and endless stopping and starting that made the journey seem so long?

One time he even walked round the corner straight into a girl, who promptly fell backwards.

"I'm sorry..." He began.

"It's okay!" She cried gaily, jumping up again and smiling widely at him. She continued past him, the pale teenager in total black following her shot him an unreadable look from unusually blue eyes. After what seemed like an age to him, but in reality it was more like three minutes, they reached a phone that was out of the way of the general hustle and bustle. The young man wordlessly handed him the phone, then wandered off.

He picked up the phone and dialled. The woman on the other end picked up after the third ring.

"How was the wedding? When will you be back?" Were the first questions asked. The man explained the situation. There was silence on the other end.

"Do you need me to come and get you?"

"No no, I'll need someone to tow it. Then I'll..."

"You'll what? Catch a taxi? Pah! I'll collect you." She hung up on him. The man stared at phone for a few moments, before hanging it back on its base. Absentmindedly he drummed his fingers against the small table the phone was on.

It was very still in this part of the house. In fact, he couldn't hear any sounds of other people at all, just his own steady breathing. It was chilly here, and seemed to be getting colder and colder. He could see his breathe as a little cloud hanging in the air before him. Warily he looked around, his fingers stopped drumming. He moved down the corridor, his footsteps the loudest they had ever seemed. He could feel breathe on the back of his neck. His hair stood on end.

Panicking now, he started to run, the incessant breathing on his neck making him more and more terrified. He glanced back, and wished he hadn't. His body hit the floor, and his fingers would never drum again.

* * *

-A month earlier-

The alarm clock beeped annoyingly. Mai stretched out a hand and groped for the machine, hitting it to make it shut up. She stretched and yawned widely. After lying still for five minutes she strengthened her resolve and threw off the covers. About an hour later she sleepily stepped into the office, not bothering to apologise for being late.

"Mai, you're late. Make me some tea." A cool voice sailed through the door. She dumped her bag on her chair, and shuffled to the kitchen to fix tea. Well, you know the routine by now. A day full of filing and sorting was not an exciting prospect, and she was already wishing it was the end of the day.

As predicted the day was just as boring as usual until about midday, when Monk and Ayako strolled into the office. Well, Monk strolled, Ayako stormed. Mai meanwhile practically danced with delight, and ran up to hug them both. Ayako halted mid complaint to greet her.

"What's up?" Mai questioned. Monk grinned.

"She's just annoyed because she has to meet this girl she doesn't like. Apparently she's much younger and prettier then-!" He winced and raised his hand to the soon-to-be bruise.

"He could have said that you were much younger and prettier than her!" Mai said reproachfully.

"Humph. Anyway, I have to meet Aiko in a month. They're having a party..."

"I thought you liked parties?"

"I do, I just don't like _her_."

"How do you know Aiko-san anyway?"

"Basically her father owns the company which provides medical equipment for our hospital. And she happens to be the same age, so we _have_ to be friends. And they've just moved into this new house, well mansion, and they're having a party, so of course I have to go and keep Aiko company." Monk and Mai backed away slyly. The italics and repetition of 'and' did not bode well for their health.

"My office hasn't changed into a cafe." Naru stood in the doorway, arms crossed and face expressionless. They sweat dropped.

"Strange, because you're always ordering tea..."

Naru glared at Monk. There was a silence. Naru sighed.

"Whatever." He retreated back into his office.

"The old man beat the young fry!" Monk threw himself onto the sofa grinning. Ayako clicked her fingers.

"I have the answer!"

"Hit me." Ayako smiled evily. "Hey, I didn't mean it literally! Ow!"

"Anyway," She continued, studying her nails, "I can invite you guys. Then I'll have to show you around and won't be able to talk to her."

"How long do you think it'll take to show us around?"

"I did say it was a mansion. I guess you can't help deafness in old age..." Ayako grinned. "I'll give you all invitations."

"Um, Ayako, you said all..." Mai butted in, a cute befuddled look on her face.

"Yeah?"

"You mean Naru and Lin-san will be coming too?"

"Why not?" She frowned as she spotted a miniscule mark on her otherwise perfect nails.

"You have met them right?"

"Duh."

"It's alright Jou-chan, we'll make them come. Leave it to us!" Monk patted her head, just as the door flew open and a certain pink haired woman floated in.

"You'll make who come to what?" She asked, smiling gently.

"Madoka!" Mai immediately jumped up and ran to hug her. Monk and Ayako exchanged a look. Their quest was about to get that much easier.

"Madoka-san!" They sidled up to her.

"Hello Takigawa-san, Matsuzaki-san." They all bowed. "I'll just go and tell Lin and Naru I'm here." She walked towards their offices.

"Do you think her and Lin-san are together?" Ayako whispered.

"If they are then if she comes he'll come, right? And Naru won't argue with her!" Monk grinned.

As soon as Madoka came out of their offices and made to leave Monk and Ayako accosted her.

"I was going to invite everyone to a party, and I was wondering if you could come?"

"I'd love to, but I'm only here for a week..." Their faces fell. "Well, maybe if I can't go, I can do something to make up for it?"

"Funny you should say that..." They couldn't believe their luck.

"Actually, I wanted to invite Lin-san and Naru too, but you know what they're like..."

"Oh, I see! No problem." She left as Monk and Ayako danced in victory. Mai smiled serenely.

Madoka lived up to her word, and Lin agreed to go to the party, as did Naru, though admittedly after more trouble. John agreed after a slight hesitation and the assurance that nothing too sinful was likely to happen, Masako was delighted (clearly she hadn't been asked to many before) and Yasuhara couldn't wait. Days went by, until there was only a week left. Mai couldn't shake off her nervousness, and try as the might; those butterflies in her stomach wouldn't disappear.

"Masako and I are going shopping to get something, you coming Mai?" Ayako called. It was a Friday, and everyone had dropped into the office. Really, you'd have thought they had something better to do.

Mai glanced at the clock. "But it's only 1!" She protested.

"I'm sure Naru won't mind. Why don't you go ask?"

"But I don't have any money..."

"Mai, we can pay for you. Go ask!" Masako nodded towards the forbidding door to Naru's office. Nervously Mai knocked said door.

"Come in."

Mai slowly opened the door, feeling her heart sink with every step. _He's not going to say yes..._ she thought unhappily.

"Yes Mai?"

"Um...Ayako and Masako are going dress shopping...and, er, I was wondering if I could go with them?" Naru looked at her for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes!" Mai danced out of his office as a slightly puzzled Naru watched her. He had never understood this strange relationship between females and shopping.

Mai, Masako and Ayako spent a happy couple of hours trying on and comparing various dresses, while chatting merrily. Even Masako found her voice. I won't describe all the dresses they ploughed through, nor will I describe their final choices yet. It's enough to say that they were all very happy with their purchases, and returned to the office in very high spirits, refusing to show them to the insistent Monk and Yasuhara.

The week passed slowly, until next Staurday. Mai jumped out of bed, showered and ate at lightning speed, before dressing and catching the bus across town to Ayako's house. Masako arrived (by car obviously) a quarter of an hour later. They went through their beauty rituals, did each other's hair and nails, ate a snack, wriggled into their dresses, took one last look in the mirror and set off.


	2. Lin's Little Secret

Chapter 2

Two hours drive away from Tokyo, in the middle of nowhere, a car turned into a driveway. Monk jumped out of the car and spoke into the intercom for a minute. The gates opened and they drove through. They parked on the grassy verge and stepped out of the car, just as another car turned into the space next to theirs.

"Bou-san!" Monk turned around as a tiny girl flew into him.

"You look amazing!" He grinned, twirling her around. "You too Masako." He smiled at the serious girl next to Mai.

"John!" Mai cried as the priest came around the car.

"Even Ayako managed to look presentable..." He winced when the inevitable blow came.

"You look lovely."

"Thank you John." Ayako smiled at him.

"Masako! You have legs! Nice ones too..." Yasuhara grinned.

"Yasu, what happened to your glasses?" Mai asked.

"Contacts. I look good, don't I?"

"Why did you get contacts?"

"Due to my improved good looks, I get to chat up more girls." He said winking at her.

"You look... strange..." Mai spotted Yasuhara's face. "But not in a bad way!"

"Anyway, how come you're here so early?" Ayako asked happily.

"We didn't want to hit any traffic, but there wasn't any..."

"Rubbish, you just wanted to spend as much time with Ayako when she looks as good as this..." Yasuhara shrank under the twin killer glares.

"Where's Naru and Lin-san?" John asked, trying to disperse the aggressive atmosphere.

"Coming later, I guess." Ayako lead them around a bend in the drive, and they saw the house. There was a collective gasp.

"I did say it was a mansion." Ayako smirked.

"Yeah... but..." Monk gaped.

The building truly was a mansion. It was built in a traditional Japanese style: the curved roofs with the next floor growing out of them, the walkway down two sides of the house made with plain wooden pillars. The drains were intricately carved, and animals' heads jutted out from the building. The house was surrounded by dainty trees mixed with the older, larger ones. There was a lawn, and to one side a wall, through the gate of which could be seen a traditional rock garden. Bare wood was painted red.

Lanterns hung around the walkway, not yet lit. Ribbons danced in the breeze, with the smell of cooking food. It was beautiful.

They walked up to carved door and Ayako rung the doorbell. It sounded unnatural and modern amongst the peaceful old fashionedness. The door was opened and someone put their eye to the crack. Suddenly the door opened fully and a young woman jumped out and hugged Ayako.

"Ayako-san! You're here!" She smiled happily. She was younger then Ayako by a couple of years. Her long, curly hair settled on her pale shoulders, and her almond shaped, green eyes sparkled.

"I said she'd be younger and prettier..." Monk muttered, and Ayako pretended not to hear.

"And these must be the friends you invited!" She said, scanning the group.

"Yeah, except two. Lin-san and Naru haven't arrived yet. This is Brown John... Hara Masako... Taniyama Mai... Yasuhara Osamu..." She struggled for a moment in wondering what to call Monk. "And Takigawa Houshou." They all bowed, to which the girl returned the bow.

"Shibanuma Aiko," She smiled. "I'll tell Okaa-san you got here. Why don't you put your stuff in my room?" (Okaa-san = mother)

"Okay..." Ayako nodded and Aiko ran off. They went back to the cars, grabbed their bags and headed into the house. Ayako led them through endless corridors, up a flight of stairs and along more corridors. She opened a door and led them into Aiko's room.

Which was remarkably plain, considering the grandeur of the rest of the building. The walls were a pale pink, but without decoration. Her bed, though made from a beautiful wood, was simple, as was her wardrobe and chest of drawers. Her bookshelf was made in the same style and wood, the books were neatly arranged, and then other books had been laid on top of those, so there was barely any space left.

Despite the simplicity of the furniture, and of the walls, the thing which took everybody by surprise was the enormous sheet of glass which dominated one wall. And the fantastic view from it. Her room looked over the rock garden, and beyond that a vast wood, and beyond that fields stretched to the horizon. *

"Wow," breathed Mai and Masako simultaneously.

"The other guests are starting to arrive, so I'm going to get ready." Aiko stood in the doorway behind them, clearly pleased by the reaction of the group.

The guys were shooed out, to wait for Naru and Lin, while the girls helped Aiko (and each other, it was a long drive...).

* * *

Naru and Lin pulled up at the drive. Like the others they were impressed with the house, though their faces betrayed no sign of emotion. Likewise their clothes were no different to their usual wear (for obvious reasons), though Naru had donned a tie. Black, of course.

They entered the house, exchanging a glance. There were people everywhere, of all ages, shapes and sizes. How on earth were they going to find the rest of SPR? With a sigh they wandered through to the garden. This is when he saw Ayako, Masako and Mai, chatting to another girl. Suddenly he felt... strange. Mai looked fantastic. I mean, the others looked good too, but Mai... He willed his brain to shut up.

I guess now is about time for descriptions, so if you want to imagine them for yourselves, or really couldn't care less what they looked like skip the next paragraph.

Masako's dress was Western (yeah, she dropped the kimono for one evening) style. It flowed elegantly to her knees in a river of black fabric, decorated with blue, flowery patterns. She had a large vibrant blue sash, tied in a bow at the back. Ayako however had a loudly red dress, ruffled up at the hem. A black ribbon was wrapped around her hips, and her hair had been pulled up into a complicated knot. A few stray wisps framed her face.

But Mai was definitely the prettiest. Mai's dress was blue, green and golden in a peacock pattern. Covering it was a black, translucent material, which curled at the hem. The dress was pulled in around her waist with a black sash and clipped with a brooch. Her short hair fell in delicate curls.

"She looks good, doesn't she Naru-chan?" Yasuhara appeared from nowhere, with John and Monk in tow. All three were carrying drinks. Naru nodded, then caught himself and glared at Yasuhara. He stopped, puzzled briefly by his odd appearance...

"Contacts?" He asked. Yasuhara nodded as he handed one drink to Naru, and one to Lin.

"And I didn't drop anything either." He said triumphantly, sipping from his glass (yes, he was carrying three glasses). They walked through the crowd to the girls, and handed the drinks out.

"You've got Mai's." Yasuhara nudged Naru. She turned around and spotted Naru and Lin.

"Naru! Lin-san!" She cried, forgetting momentarily that neither Lin nor Naru do hugs. Silently Naru handed the drink to the now profusely blushing Mai.

"Excuse me, I think you have my drink..." Aiko turned her gaze on Lin. "Shibanuma Aiko." She bowed. Lin handed her the drink and bowed too.

"Lin Koujo," he said. There was a pause.

"Wow, Lin spoke." Yasuhara started. Lin gave him a look which said _I can speak, shocking though it seems_. Aiko watched the exchange with her cat-like eyes.

"So, where are you from?" She asked.

"China." He paused, and glanced at Yasuhara. "What about you?" Everyone looked at Lin.

"Has he been given anything to drink?" Monk asked quietly.

"Why?" Asked Aiko, ignoring Monk.

"Your eyes..."

"Oh yeah. I'm half French." She smiled at him.

"C'est un plaisir de vous recontre." (It's a pleasure to meet you)

"Et toi," 6 out of the 9 people blinked.

"Er, Lin-san, you can speak French?" Mai asked, her eyes round.

"A little." **

"Wow," Said Yasuhara again. Lin shot him a 'see? I can speak' look.

"Sorry, got to go..." Aiko smiled at the group and left, weaving through the crowd to get to her mother, who was waving at her.

"So Lin, do you like her?" Ayako asked. He shrugged.

"Back to normal then..."

"I just felt something." A drop of water had landed right in the middle of John's head.

"Oh brilliant." Ayako said sarcastically.

"Let's go inside before it starts really raining..." John said, lightly touching the wet patch on his head. The group started towards the house, but at that moment there was a flash, followed after a pause by a loud rumble.

"8 kilometres away." Mai counted on her fingers and looked at the cloud again, though more worriedly.

They surged forwards, but the thunder had made everyone look up, and now all the people were headed towards the house. They pressed onwards, weaving and darting through the crowd. Monk turned around.

"Hey, where's Mai?" He counted six heads. "There's someone else missing too..."

"Masako?" Ayako called.

"I'm here."

"Naru! Well, at least Mai's with him... hopefully..." She smiled slightly.

"Was it just me, or was he looking a bit...?" Monk stopped thoughtfully.

"Star struck?" Yasuhara piped up.

"No, but kind of."

* * *

There were too many people. And she was too small. The others didn't notice when someone slipped in between her and the group. And then a few more people. They weren't pushing, but more purposefully walking, so she didn't panic. She wondered how she was going to find them again amongst all the people.

A patch of complete black.

"Naru?" He turned around, and she smiled in relief. Without thinking she grabbed his jacket sleeve. The rain started pouring just as there was another flash.

"Damn." She muttered. But then they were under the walkway, and in the building. They wandered through rooms and corridors, keeping their eyes peeled. Mai's eyes widened. She was alone with Naru! Admittedly in a crowd, but still. Inside she danced.

There was a flash of emerald green. She could see Aiko, and made her way towards her, dragging Naru with her.

"Aiko-san? Have you seen Ayako and the others?" She asked, but Aiko shook her head, saying that she was sorry.

"We'll never find them." She frowned. Naru said nothing. She sighed, confused by her mixed feelings. On the one hand she was blissfully happy, but on the other hand Naru wasn't very talkative...

"Mai, we're going in circles."

"..."

He sighed.

"No we're not!" She protested.

"We've been through this room 4 times."

"Sure?"

"Unless they've got 4 identical vases in 4 identically sized and coloured rooms, and several quadruplets have been invited, one of whom happens to be in each room."

Mai was silent.

"Fair point."

They opened the door into the corridor and set off in different directions. Mai's fingers slid off his sleeve, she panicked and grabbed his hand. Both froze. Hastily she let go of him, blushing furiously.

"This way..." He said quietly.

"I'm hungry..." Mai moaned. Naru sighed. In a way, it was like babysitting a child, or a dog. Though it would be a cute dog... Shut up Naru.

They walked down the corridor and around the corner and...

"I'm sorry..."

Mai looked up at the man. In many ways he reminded her of Naru, or maybe Lin. Tall, wearing dark trousers but a white shirt, long, straight, black hair... ok, more like Lin.

"It's okay!" She jumped up and smiled at him, to show she wasn't hurt. After all, she was used to worse than falling over and getting a sore bum. Anyway, he looked worse then she felt: he was soaking wet. She walked past, Naru following her.

After eating something they decided to sit down and wait for the others to come to them. Mai wasn't too happy about this; she wanted to be doing something active but her feet hurt and she wasn't going to wander off without Naru.

Suddenly there was an ear-splitting scream. Mai covered her ears, it was horrible. I can't describe it, but think of the worst scream you've ever heard. Then, think worse.

As suddenly as it started, it stopped. There was a moment of silence, then movement everywhere. Naru and Mai jumped up, running towards the source of the noise. Half the room was still sat completely still, probably from shock or the suddenness of it. Some people were moving away from the noise.

There, ahead of them people were running. Mai closed her eyes briefly.

"This way." She grabbed Naru's jacket sleeve and pulled him into a room, through it and into the other corridor. She led them using instinct to the body. The others arrived soon afterwards.

"Mai-chan! You're alright." Monk hugged her.

"Where were you? We couldn't find you two anywhere..." Ayako asked worriedly.

"Um, Ayako, I don't think they believe you..." Yasuhara whispered. It was true, Ayako's lying skills weren't very well developed, and Naru and Mai saw right through her little white lie.

They shouldered their way (or in Mai and Masako's (and probably John's (he's 5'4"!)) case they more slipped) to the front of the crowd.

"Oh my God!" Yasuhara breathed.

"Naru, it's that man we met..." Mai murmured, her eyes wide.

* * *

***Well, if I'm going to write the perfect house, I may as well do it properly**

**** I know it was completely un-Lin to do that, but it was just SO tempting.**

**Thanks to melovepickles16, sweetymai90, missyangel87 and aktaiy for reviewing :D and to everyone who read. **


	3. Kawatake Investigates

Chapter 3

Detective Inspector Kawatake was not the most patient of men. And so he was not exactly pleased when he was put on a night duty. The mound of paperwork plonked on his desk by the rather pretty receptionist did not exactly appeal to him. In fact, in an hour he had managed to do several sheets of paperwork, one Sudoku and had become stuck on one crossword.

He was struggling with one of the harder clues when the aforementioned rather pretty receptionist knocked and popped her head round the door.

"Call just came through... A death in one of those mansions. A murder, and with all the thunder and everything too. Sounds just like something out of a horror movie." She shivered delicately.

"Are they sure it's a murder?"

"Quite sure. They said..." The woman briefed him, gave him the address and Kawatake set off.

* * *

Bou-san thrust a cup of tea into Mai's numb hands. Her wide eyes snapped back into reality.

"Thanks." She smiled at him as he ruffled her hair.

"They've called the police. And the local hospital." Mai just nodded. In her mind's eye she saw the man's dead eyes watching her, his arm outstretched, a look of panic chiselled onto his face. Bou-san had gently led her away, while John knelt down and closed his eyes.

"They should be here soon..." Mai nodded. Bou-san sighed. He went over to talk to Yasuhara, John and Ayako. Naru and Lin were having their own little conversation in another corner of the room.

Not long afterwards Kawatake arrived. He got out of his car in the proper detective manner, and walked up to the house. He gave an appreciative whistle.

"Inspector?" A small woman had opened the door and was watching him. She had beautiful curly blonde hair, and large green eyes. Clearly a foreigner. When she spoke there was a slight accent, but that just made her speech sound more attractive. From her dress there had been quite a party going on, all terribly interrupted by the death, of course.

"Shibanuma-san?" They both bowed, and he walked into the house. "Forensics will be following." He said. "I'm sorry for your-"

"Oh, I didn't know him. One of the helpers let him in. Apparently his car broke down and he asked to use the phone. By the way, I prefer Anaise*." The detective almost rolled his eyes. But he was a man of reputation, and his reputation stated clearly that he was not a roll-your-eyes kind of person. Instead he just nodded calmly and confidently, taking it all in his stride.

The little woman led him through the house to a room that was reasonably empty. A group of young adults (and one older man) looked up.

"I was thinking the Inspector might like to use this room, so if you wouldn't mind..."

"Of course." The detective watched the older man, but his lips never moved. He changed his focus to a teenager with a strange attraction to black, who watched him with unreadable blue eyes.

Kawatake took off his hat and laid it on a chair, ran a hand through his greying hair. The door shut behind the group, and he turned to the woman.

"I would like to speak to the person who let him in, and also anyone who sat him, spoke to him, even saw him out of the corner of his eye. Do you know who he is?" Said the epitome of professionalism.

"No. I'll spread the word... Would you like any tea ...?"

"Kawatake. Yes please."

"Kawatake-san." She smiled and left. Kawatake sat down and waited, impatiently of course, as was his nature.

The first person to come was Shibanuma Anaise, with his tea. He sipped it gently, nodded, and folded his hands together. The second person to come in was the young man who had let in the man. The detective surveyed him in silence. He was definitely young, and looked shaken. His dark eyes darted around the room, before settling on the detective.

"The lady said you wanted to see me?" He asked timidly, slightly nervous under that calm gaze.

"I believe you were the person who let... him... into the house?"

"Er, yeah. He said that his car had broken down and he would like to make a phone call. I didn't see anything wrong with that, and the poor guy looked pretty drenched. It's a bad night for your car to break down. Terrible weather." He gulped under the intimidating stare, and decided to stick to the story. "Anyway... I led him in, not to one of the nearer telephones, but one nearer the kitchen. I thought that way he could ask someone passing when he wanted to find the way back out. It's like a maze in here, absolutely massive. Anyway, the phones kinda out of the way, so he wouldn't have all the noise, and then I left."

"Why did you leave?"

"It's a bit rude to listen to other people's conversations, especially if they're strangers. I didn't see him again after that, till... till... you know."

"Did you know him?"

"Never seen him before in my life." Kawatake signalled that he was done, and the young helper stood up to leave.

Next came the person who let him in at the gate, who confirmed that the man had claimed his car had broken down. After that he was visited by our favourite duo, Mai and Naru. Mai dragging a somewhat reluctant Naru with her.

"Oh come on, it's only fair to the poor man." She said, before knocking on the door.

"Come in," Kawatake called. Mai entered the room first, followed by Naru. She glanced between Naru and the detective, who seemed to be trying to stare each other down. She nudged Naru.

"When did you see the deceased?" Kawatake asked, somewhat disappointed that his usual technique of gazing fixedly at the person he was interrogating hadn't worked. The girl looked slightly uncomfortable though, if that was some consolation.

"We, that is Mai, bumped into him in the corridor. He said sorry, Mai said it was fine." Naru explained.

"And did you know him?" One shake of the head, one reply of no.

"What time?" Mai glanced at Naru.

"About half eight."

"Did you see the body?"

"Yes. We got there at about nine. There were already a few people there."

The detective jotted it down. "That's all." He said, glancing up at the pair.

"One more thing. Think about the scream." Naru said, as he closed the door behind him. The detective didn't even bother to ask, but lent back in his chair as though deep in thought.

* * *

"What did you mean, think about the scream?" A confused Mai asked Naru once they were in the corridor.

'_Damnit, why does she have to make such cute faces when she doesn't understand things? Why did I think that?_' What he actually said was:

"Don't you think it's odd that we hear the scream, but so did the others, even though they were on the other side of the house?"

"Yeah, but..." She trailed off as realisation dawned.

"You're right! (Naru glanced at her in exasperation) But then a human couldn't have done that... you think there are ghosts, ne Naru?"

"I don't know." With that he fell silent. Mai sighed, but inside she was secretly thrilled to have been alone with Naru for pretty much the whole evening. Masako was probably dying with jealousy. She immediately reproached herself for being unkind to poor Masako, but she was so annoying sometimes...

However her joy was short lived, as they rejoined the rest of SPR fairly quickly. They moved towards the entrance of the house, where it was less crowded. There seemed to be some disturbance there though, and they curiously elbowed their way to the front of the inevitable crowd.

"Have you seen him? About six foot four, dark hair?" A woman was in front of the crowd. She searched the faces of the perfect strangers in front of her, who shuffled uncomfortably.

"Looks a bit like... him!" She pointed straight at Lin. People glanced at him, then looked apologetically at their shoes.

"Well? What's wrong with all of you?" She was starting to get annoyed, and taped her foot impatiently on the wooden floor.

"How do you know him?" One person ventured timidly.

"Old friend. What aren't you telling me?" Her eyes blazed.

"Your friend is dead. I'm sorry."

She paused and stared at the speaker. "What?"

"Your friend, he... died... this evening..." Mai looked up from her shoes, tears streaming down her face. The woman stared at her some more, her mouth forming an 'O'. She stepped backwards, trying to start a sentence which came out as an incoherent gurgle. She knew Mai wasn't lying. Who could not believe her little innocent face?

"What's happening here?" People stepped aside for Anaise and her husband, Matsu. They took in the woman who had started crying, and Mai who was stepping forward to comfort her.

"Who are you?" Matsu asked.

"They said... they said that he died... my friend... with the broken down car..." She looked at the couple, willing them to tell her it wasn't true.

"I'm so sorry..." Anaise whispered. The woman sobbed hysterically and was led gently away by Anaise.

The detective was sitting with his hands clasped when Anaise walked into the room. He stood up politely.

"A woman has come who seems to know the man who died." She hiccupped.

"Show her in."

"She's in a bit of a state..." Kawatake raised one eyebrow.

"We are conducting a murder inquiry." He stated imperiously. Then, more gently "It's very important we know everything as soon as possible; we wouldn't want the murderer to kill again." Anaise nodded and left demurely. In her heart she was troubled, and unsure the woman should be put through an interrogation just after finding out, but...

He leaned back and waited. When there was a timid knock on the door he called to enter. He studied the woman who came in. She was very small, and her face was red and blotchy from crying. Her dark eyes were also red, and her short hair stuck to her wet face. He discarded the gazing card and picked up another: kindness.

"Would you like a tissue?" He asked, digging in his pocket. She nodded, reached for the tissue and blew her nose noisily.

"So, let's start at the beginning. Why are you here?" He asked gently.

"I got a phone call... about... an hour ago. I live reasonably close, and I said I would collect him. And bring leads for his car. I found his car, quite stuck in the mud, about a mile away. Then I remembered he said about a big house, so I came here..."

"Of course. How long have you known him?"

"We were in primary school together. I was his next door neighbour, and when his father didn't come home till late we would cook him dinner." She saw the questioning look on Kawatake's face. "His mother died when he was seven."

"What's your name?"

"Oh yes! How rude of me. Nemoto Ikue."

"Nemoto-san, you are the only person we have that knew him. Would you identify the body? Bear in mind you don't have to say yes, but it would make our investigation a lot quicker." She nodded. "Thank you." She bowed her head.

"His name is... was... Toru Rai." She said quietly. He stood up, and opened the door. She followed and they walked through the house to the middle. He held up the tape for her, and they ducked underneath.

"Kawatake-san." A man about thirty greeted him. "We haven't moved anything yet. And who is this gorgeous lady you've brought with you?" He said bowing to the pair. "I'm Takudo Daisetsu."

"Don't listen to the old rascal." Kawatake whispered to Ikue. They bowed as well. Then Kawatake stepped forward and inspected the area. The corridor was plain, and the only furniture was the small table with the telephone further along. There was the chalk outline, but no body. Thankfully there was no blood.

"He's this way..." Takudo led them a few metres down the corridor to a stretcher with a cloth spread over it. He lifted the corner so the late Toru Rai's face could be seen. Ikue sobbed and stammered out that the body was indeed her friend. Kawatake gently led her away and sat her down. Then he went back to Takudo.

"Now you can tell me, Takudo-san."

"Strangled, poor chap. Look at the marks around the neck." He lifted more of the sheet. Kawatake winced.

"What's this mark?" He asked.

* * *

"Hara-san, do you sense any spirits here?" Naru had finished pacing.

"Faintly... I can see they're there. Some stand out more then others... there's a young girl and boy, they're in love, and there's an older man... there's others but I can't see..."

"You think a ghost could've killed him?" Monk asked, over Mai's sarcastic mutterings on Masako's usual performance.

"At least she didn't go all 'the emotions here are so _strong_, Naru, hold me, the emotions are _overwhelming_ me'-"

"Shut up, Mai." Ayako prodded her.

"I don't know yet. How many spirits are there?"

"More then would be expected. I'm not sure though, ten? Fifteen? Maybe more."

"Masako, why didn't you say?" Ayako asked, surprised. After all, she had a record of walking in to a building and complaining about the spirits.

"They're so faint... A couple of ghosts are normal for a house as old as this."

Mai sighed. If there were ghosts that violent, and they got the case they would have to go all the way back to get the equipment, and if Masako couldn't sense the ghosts...

* * *

***Anaise is a French name. It's so pretty. Then again, French is, generally.**

**Ta-dah! Sorry it took so long, I have sooo much work :/  
**


	4. A Slight Problem

Chapter 4

A Slight Problem

Mai couldn't see anything. She twirled around in the mist, but as she couldn't even see her outstretched hands how could she expect to work out where she was or what she was doing there?

A hand wrapped around hers, making her jump. Someone chuckled.

"Naru. You scared me." She said accusingly. She could make out the faint outline of his head and jacket.

"Mai, it's dangerous here. You should leave." He said gently.

"Why? I can't see anything, but you're here..."

"Wake up and go."

"You mean in the house!" She could swear he was giving her a bug-eyed 'duh' look. "But why?"

"Have I ever been wrong before? Remember that high school?"

"Yeah, but I want to know why." She scowled. He sighed.

"Naru?" She could feel his grip loosening as the fog cleared. She was leaning against a wall with her head back. She could feel eyes on her, and slowly opened hers. A teenage girl was peering at her.

"Konishi-sama? Are you alright?" Mai stood up, her usual jumpiness suppressed by the semiformal kimono she was wearing.

"Yes thank-you, Akiko-chan." She walked down the corridor, feeling Akiko's concerned gaze on her back. She shut the door to her room and leant on it. Inexplicably she had butterflies in her stomach and her throat felt dry.

"What's wrong with me?" She shook her head and made to lie down on her bed. As soon as she stepped forward there was an ear-splitting scream, just like the one she had heard before they found that man's body. She covered her ears and dropped to her knees in fright.

As suddenly as it started it finished. Mai removed her hands from her head only to hear a noise just as scary. The crackling of fire. Her head snapped up.

The bed was on fire. She watched, almost hypnotised, as the yellow tongues flickered and danced. Then, coming to her senses, she stood up and shuffled to the door. Why did this woman have to wear this stupid kimono? Mai's thoughts screamed.

She doubled up as she coughed violently, the heat making her throat feel even dryer. She flung open the door, stumbled into the corridor and slammed it behind her.

"Fire. FIRE!" She screamed. She moved down the corridor, but as she did so the table next to her spontaneously combusted. She cringed away from it, panic starting to rise. The fire advanced on her from the end of the corridor, the flames cackled as they danced towards her along the floor of the corridor. As the wall advanced she could see the perfectly intact floor behind it.

"What on-?"

She turned around and ran that way, moving down stairs to the bottom floor. Until the bottom step erupted with flames. She moved away from the fire, calling out. She ran up those stairs and tried the other pair. She could hear people calling out from downstairs. The fire had started to destroy things.

She got to the other flight of stairs, but the same happened. A window. She moved towards that, but the flames were coming at her from all directions now, arching across the ceiling so she could feel the searing heat from all sides. She cried, thinking of her little baby daughter. At least she was downstairs, so hopefully she would get out alright.

The flames stopped just before her, pausing a little, as though savouring the moment. She saw a face in them, staring at her with fiery eyes. There was a laugh and the flames advanced again. Sparks set her kimono alight. She screamed.

"Mai!" Cold water landed on her face. She spluttered. The hands pinning her arms down were removed. Her eyes stared vacantly straight ahead while her brain caught up.

"Mai?" Monk's concerned voice floated down. She burst into tears, then sat up and wrapped her arms around Ayako, sobbing into her shoulder.

There was a general muttering from the onlookers in the doorway, who immediately dispersed when Naru and Monk turned on them. John quietly shut the door.

"It's alright Mai, you're safe. We're here." Mai just nodded, tears streaming down her face. She made an effort to control herself, and her sobs slowly turned into hiccups.

"There. Now, would you like to tell us, or would you rather wait till the morning?"

"No. We have to go. He said it's not safe here." SPR looked at each other questioningly.

"Who said?" Naru asked, but was stopped with a look from Ayako which clearly said 'let the woman handle this'.

"I don't know. Somebody." She said, lying through her teeth.

"Mai, Mai, calm down. There's no danger here. Anyway, we can't leave; the police will want to keep everyone here for a bit." Monk patted her head.

Mai looked up at him with her adorable eyes swimming. She smiled. "Oh yeah!"

Everyone blinked at her sudden mood swing, but let it pass. It was, after all, Mai they were dealing with.

"Well, it's almost six, and there's no way I'm going to get some sleep now. Who's up for breakfast? I'm starving anyway." Monk stretched. Ayako sent him a 'you're-so-insensitive' look, but he ignored her.

"Isn't it rude to have breakfast before the Shibanuma's are up?" John asked timidly, clearly forgetting it was Monk he was talking to, and where food was concerned, there were no rules.

"Ah well. I'm sure they got woken up too. You could hear Mai from about half a mile away." She blushed in embarrassment.

"Was it that bad?" She asked perhaps more timidly then John. The others glanced at each other. She blushed even more.

"Shall we say, even Lin-san jumped out of his room. OW! What was that for?"

"You don't need to embarrass her after she's just woken up!" Ayako said, inspecting her nails for damage.

"I swear she cares more about her nails then my head..." Grumbled the unfortunate monk.

* * *

Kawatake drove up to the house. He had come to collect statements, so the guests could go home. It was a job he was not looking forward too. So he had brought his colleague with him (you know how policemen always go around in twos? What are their partners called?).

"Wow." Breathed Ito Keizo.

"You take statements from most of the guests. I'll take statements from anyone who met Toru-san." Kawatake ordered, giving himself the least work, which was just what he liked.

So he took another stammered statement from the helper who let him in, and from Ikue, who looked very subdued. And, of course, from Mai and Naru.

"What did you mean about the scream?" He asked. "Everyone seems to have heard this scream, which should be impossible. Judging from the size of the house."

Naru nodded, partly from agreement and partly from approval. His dealings with the police from the past had left him with the impression that most of them were incompetent.

Kawatake noticed the frown on the girls face.

"What is it?" He asked, guessing that for this one kindness would again be the best card to play. What great intuition this guy has.

"My dream..." Mai murmured. Naru glanced at her but said nothing.

"What about it?"

"Oh, nothing!" She said brightly. Kawatake raised an eyebrow.

"This is a murder investigation, young lady." He said, patronisingly.

"Tell me, Kawatake-san, do you believe in ghosts?" Naru asked with a completely straight face, though Mai almost cracked.

"No. Why?"

"We think there may be a ghost connected with this. It would explain the scream."

Kawatake looked from Naru to Mai. Nope, they weren't joking. But, then again...

"You are serious?" He asked. Now it was Naru's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"Well, what other evidence do you have?" The Inspector was an open minded man, as years of experience had taught him to listen to new ideas, however wacky they may seem. Religious people were sometimes thought to be very wise, and he thought religion was a bit strange.

"Masako says there are spirits." Mai and Naru said simultaneously (though Naru said Hara-san).

"Hara Masako... Hara Masako..." He repeated, trying to place the name.

"She a famous psychic on TV." Mai explained.

"Right..." Kawatake felt a bit out of his depth, so he dismissed the pair. Then he went to find Ito Keizo.

Meanwhile Mai and Naru set off to Monk, Yasuhara and John's room, which everyone was using as a kind of unofficial base. He immediately asked about the scream.

"There was a scream just before the bed caught fire. Just like the one we heard."

Naru sighed. "Anything else you forgot?" She shook her head. The rest of the journey was fairly silent.

They entered the room and sat down, just as Aiko slipped in.

"So, I feel really weird at with... so I was wondering if you guys would stay for a bit? I'd feel so much safer. I've asked some other people as well..."

SPR looked at each other. It seemed a bit harsh to say no, so they agreed. She grinned widely.

"I'll go tell Maman you said yes!" She jumped up and left them.

"Yasuhara? You can return to Earth now." Monk laughed.

"Sorry, Bou-san?"

"Never mind." He grinned as the others laughed. They were interrupted by Masako quietly asking what they were going to do with no extra clothes. There was a pause.

"Oh yeah." Ayako said. Naru almost rolled eyes. Honestly, do they ever think before agreeing to something?

That was how they ended up staying there, against Gene's better judgement. But Naru's curiosity would never have been satisfied if they hadn't worked out the secrets of that old house. But that's for later. First they had to persuade the family to agree to SPR investigating the house...

Luckily, with Naru's persuasive skills, that wasn't too difficult. Kawatake didn't seem to care that much as long as they didn't get in the way of his investigation. They drove back to get the equipment and some spare clothes, and then came back within the same day. And so, the investigation began.

With Mai hurting herself, in proper Ghost Hunt tradition. She tripped over the door while carrying one of the cameras. Naru was not very impressed, but the camera still worked (and they're insured ^^).

They took over one of the rooms downstairs as their base. Let's face it, it didn't matter much, there were so many. There was a problem they soon discovered. The Shibanuma family had just moved in, so apart from the corridor they didn't know of any activity. Which posed the question: where to put the cameras? So, for now, there was one in the corridor where the body had been discovered, and Mai, Masako and Ayako had been sent to measure temperatures while Yasuhara and John helped Shibanuma Botan to dig out and photocopy the floor plans.

They had been given a copy of the floor plans, partly to make sure they didn't get lost, and partly to write the temperatures on. However all the temperatures, except for two, were normal. The library was lower and so was one of the corridors. When they walked into the library Masako gasped and covered her mouth with her sleeve.

"What is it Masako?" Mai asked, concerned.

"This room... it's so filled with love." She said, smiling slightly. Mai almost sweat dropped. "And next time, Mai-_san_ I would prefer it if you didn't drop honorifics with me." Mai's eyes narrowed but she let that pass without comment. Well, without a verbal comment.

"I feel what you mean. Somehow you feel slightly happier here." Ayako studied the room.

"It's a young girl and boy..." Mai jotted everything down on the pieces of paper. They returned to base after having done the ground floor. Mai tacked the paper on the wall. The other floors there were no abnormal temperature differences, and the floor plans were dutifully tacked onto the wall next to the first.

"Well, were do we put the cameras Naru-chan?"

* * *

Hey! Sorry this is so late, my teachers are trying to overwork me to death i swear. Ah well, being the eternal optimist (even when it's downright stupid), could be worse. So I hope that _this _time it might actually save. Fingers crossed ^.^

-PorcupineDirectory-


	5. Telephone Call

**Okay, I thought about attempting this from a first person point of view (something I've never done before, _all_ my stories are in third), so of course it would have to be either Mai or Naru's POV. Well, that's barely even a choice...**

**"Wake up Noll!" My eyelids fluttered open. Why was Lin shouting at me? Had something bad happened? My thoughts immediately flew to Mai.**

**ONLY JOKING! I'm not that crazy! Now, for the real story...**

* * *

The Spiders Web, Chapter 5

Telephone Call

My eyelids opened. Nooo... I groaned, clamping them shut, seriously hoping that Ayako wasn't going to catch me out this time...

"Mai! You're awake!" A voice whispered somewhere near my left ear. Damn.

"Just five more minutes?" I pleaded sleepily, gazing up at her with the biggest eyes I could muster. The bed was so warm...

"Come on, I've been up since eight. Anyway, you know Naru-chan doesn't like it when we sleep in when we've got work to do."

"Masako's still asleep!" I protested.

"Please Mai? I've done and redone my nails twice."

"Er, why?"

"I changed my mind about the colour." She stated as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Knowing I would never get to sleep again now, I reluctantly got up.

Twenty minutes later we were in base. John was already up, as well as the usual pair. Monk-san was nowhere to be seen.

"- picked up nothing overnight. Mai, tea. Which is strange given the ghost reacted immediately to Toru-san." Naru was in the middle of his speech as we walked in, none the less he somehow managed to integrate his order into his speech flawlessly.

"Mai!"

"Yes?" I asked innocently.

"I have already asked for tea." He said pointedly. He's always grumpy in the mornings. Probably because he doesn't get enough sleep. Which is why he's got dark circles round his amazingly blue eyes...

Which are still looking pointedly at me. Sighing, I left to find the kitchen in the maze cum mansion. Which took some time. I made the tea, humming while I worked. I reached out with one hand to put the tea leaves back in the cupboard, but my hand closed around nothing. Frowning slightly, I searched the kitchen for the tea.

"Do you need any help... Mai-san?" I spun around, probably looking quite guilty. Shubanuma-san was watching me with some amusement twinkling in her eyes.

"Um, I was looking for the tea...?" She reached into a cupboard and pulled out the jar of tea leaves.

"I could've..." I trailed off, staring at the not-so-innocent jar. "Thank you, Shubanuma-san."

"Please, call me Anaise. I never got used to this Japanese tradition."

"Okay, An-Anaise? Is that how you pronounce it?" I tried to work my mouth around the sounds. She laughed.

"Close enough. Would you like some help? It's always nice to have someone to talk to when you're doing things, don't you find?"

"Yes please!" I smiled broadly, happy that for once someone I didn't know was happy to talk. We talked about France mostly, and the time passed so quickly that I found myself stopping outside the door of our base without entering.

"She's taking her time... do you think she got lost?" Monk's voice floated through the door, reminding me that I was carrying not-exactly-steaming-anymore tea. Biting my lip I opened the door, quickly giving everyone a cup and serving.

"- put them dotted around the house at roughly equal spacing. We will also rely on Hara-san to tell us if she senses anything, and put one there. That will do until we get more information. Yasuhara and Mai, you can research." Naru said, sipping his vaguely warm tea as the others murmured their thanks.

"What am I researching?" I asked, annoyed that I always seemed to walk in half way through something important.

"Past activity." Naru looked at me as though it was the most obvious thing. I sighed. At least I wouldn't have to wander round with Masako.

* * *

The phone was ringing, but no one had picked up.

"Yasu? No one's answering." I put down the phone.

"Try again." He took off his glasses and wiped them. He had got the job of trawling through tens of internet sites to find some information, while I was left to phone the previous owners.

Sighing I picked up the phone and dialled the number again. This time it was picked up straight away.

"Er, hello?" I said timidly. Phone calls always make me slightly nervous.

"Hello?" A friendly voice asked on the other end. My sense of courage heightened by this, I spoke up a bit.

"Hello. I'm Taniyama Mai, and I was wondering if I could speak to you about your last house?" I could see Yasuhara glance at me and raise an eyebrow. Oops. Maybe not the best way to start then.

"Why, Taniyama-san?"

"Erm, I work with a company called SPR and we're investigating the house..." My voice trailed off after a slow diminuendo*. There was a silence on the other end of the line.

"Investigating in what way?" She asked. I could hear the frown in her voice.

"We're ghost hunters." Another silence. "Hello?"

"I would advise you to stay away from that house." She said slowly.

"Why?"

"It's not safe..."

"Did anything happen when you lived there?" I asked, desperate to get some information out of her.

"I'd rather not-"

"Please. It's for our own safety and future owners. We cannot get rid of the ghosts unless we know what they are capable of." There was another pause.

"Two people died while we lived there. I'd rather not speak about it, but if I must..."

"Please do. I know how you feel." I added, in an attempt to help her. I could see Yasuhara shake his head slightly. Hopefully not at my interviewing style.

"How can you? My mother came to stay with us for a couple of weeks, she died within the first. My husband's friend was the other person. The police hounded us, even though we hadn't done it." She burst out. "How can you know? How old are you?"

"16" I said timidly.

"16! An age of innocence. I wish I was 16. What do you know about the world when you're 16?"

"One man has already been killed here. My parents died when I was young. I've experienced having my throat cut open." I said quietly, not noticing Yasuhara's shamed face.

"Oh." Was the only sound. "Erm, if you don't mind, I don't think I'd like to talk anymore... I hope your investigation goes well, Taniyama-san." And with that she hung up.

"Mai, next time I'm doing the calling." Yasuhara immediately stated.

"What? I got the information out of her!" I protested.

"Yeah, and made sure if she ever hears the letters S, P and R together again she'll cry."

"I wasn't that bad, was I? And she was going on about how I know nothing, and have never had anything bad happen to me!"

"I surrender!" He cried, throwing his arms up. "But I'm still doing the calling."

"Whatever." I said in my darkest voice.

"You're turning into Naru! I know you like him but..."

"I'm not! Though I would be able to do his evils if I did..."

The day I turned into Naru...

The rest of day was spent making endless cups of tea and assisting whoever needed my help. Or wanted my help. It was fairly uneventful. Strange after how the ghosts reacted to Toru-san, that now they had slunk back into hiding without a trace. Masako couldn't sense many, or she sensed them so faintly that it amounted to the same thing.

I sighed. I don't see how we're going to make any leeway in this case the way things are going.

Wait... I could swear I was in the library a minute ago. I looked around, thoroughly baffled. The house looks different too...

"Mai?" I spun around. Naru was sprinting up the corridor to me.

"Naru? What are you doing here?" But he just grabbed my hand and started pulling me in the direction he had come from.

"Naru! What is it?" I wrenched my hand from his. If this was another practical joke... Wow. Did I just think that?

"We've got to get out of here! The house is on fire!" I could see the panic in his eyes, though he tried to hide it. Together we ran, and ran, but the house seemed to be against us: somehow the corridors had lengthened, the stairs were steeper, our senses more confused.

The house was perforated with a warm orange light and an incessant crackling. We turned a corner, and before us was a wall of flames. We doubled back, but there was no way out. We sprinted into the library, panting.

The room was surrounded by flames.

"We're trapped!" I started to panic. Naru dashed to the window, but it was stuck fast. But they were all oiled this week... something's not quite right...

He tried all of them, but none would move. The flames had stopped at the two doorways, watching us predatorily. I stared back, mesmerised, while Naru still attacked the windows. Somehow I felt we weren't going to get out of this alive...

"Naru!"

"Mai?"

"It's not going to work!" Hysteria was creeping into my voice. Clearly he had had the same thought. As if the fire could read minds it started advancing.

"I love you." I whispered. His arms wrapped around me.

"I love you too." I dug my face in his chest, and the fire lunged.

* * *

**Okay, maybe Mai came out a bit cynical, but see what you think. **

**-PorcupineDirectory-  
**

*Reduction in volume in music.


	6. Removing Obsticles

**Hah! I'm not trying that again ^-^**

The Spider's Web

Chapter 6 - Removing Obsticles

"Mai?" Her eyes fluttered open. She could see Yasuhara and Anaise watching her closely.

"I'm fine..." She said, but groaned slightly as she got up. She raised her right hand to her forehead, it felt like it was throbbing.

"Come on, Mai-san, we need to get you a bandage or plaster or something." Anaise was helping her up.

"What? Why?" She brought her hand down to help herself.

"Oh no... Osamu-san, could you wipe that please?" She handed Yasuhara a tissue. Mai looked at her hand, only to find a red strip running down it.

"You've hit your head quite badly..." Anaise explained.

"You just collapsed, and you wouldn't wake up. So I found the nearest person..."

"Maman? Ou êtes vous? Je pense que les autres-" Aiko came round the corner. Her eyes widened slightly as she took in Mai with blood down one side of her face. "Mai-san, are you okay? What happened?"

"It doesn't hurt."

"Let's go to the kitchen."

Mai went with her little flock to the kitchen, where the biggest plaster they could find was stuck over the cut.

"At least it's shallow..." Anaise said, surveying her handiwork.

"Are you sure that plasters the right size? It looks more like Mai is stuck to the plaster rather then the plaster is stuck to Mai." Yasuhara said doubtfully.

"I think it looks fine." Yasuhara refrained from pointing out that as she chose the plaster she would think that. Instead his eye fell on something that had definitely _not_ been there before.

"Did you make that cup of tea?"

"No."

"Me neither."

"Well, I couldn't." All four looked suspiciously at the offending cup. Mai asked hesitantly if they thought it was safe to drink. Yasuhara gave the cup a dark look, before pouring it down the sink, just in case.

"Now let's get you back to base, before Naru gets too worried."

Though if Naru was worried, he was good at hiding it. Okay, Naru _is_ good at hiding it, we all know that.

"Mai, Yasuhara, what happened?" Ayako asked, giving Yasuhara a sharp look as though it was all his fault.

"She lost consciousness and hit a table as she fell. It's just a shallow cut, but Anaise-san put on a huge plaster."

"It probably looks worse then it feels." Mai chimed, though the rest of the group didn't look convinced. As she looked away from their concerned gazes she could swear she saw Naru looking worried before his eyes flicked upwards and he frowned at the plaster as though it had personally affronted him. He caught her eye and his face assumed its normal, emotionless look.

"Why did you black out? Have you been drinking enough?" Monk practically oozed concern.

"I had a... a dream..." She said, blushing furiously. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Naru look up. Had she imagined that look after all? Naru worried about her seemed too good to be true, but then again, he did worry about his employees, didn't he? Madoka said that he did, and she knew him better then Mai did. She realised the others were all watching her expectantly.

"Er, sorry?" She added another layer of blush through confusion and embarrassment.

"Well? What happened?"

"It's the couple in the library. They died in a fire too."

"The same fire that the woman died in?"

"I don't know."

* * *

"Did you hear that?" Masako's head whipped around.

"Hear what?" John asked.

"It sounds like someone crying." She wandered back down the corridor, following the noise.

"Crying? Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure."

"Sorry."

_They were watched with interest. A figure followed them down the corridor, then stopped. Muttering to itself, it turned and went the other way._

_Other figures passed it, though they didn't seem to notice it until it stopped them. Whispers passed between figures, circulating the entire house. One figure purposely started to trail Masako and John, while at the same time another sought out the one figure the whispers had avoided._

"Do you feel like we're being watched?" John asked nervously.

"We're being followed actually." John looked at Masako with surprise.

"Er, doesn't that worry you?"

"No." There was a pause. "She isn't going to hurt us."

John nodded. It made a nice change; a ghost who was not out to kill them.

"Er, how long has... she been there?"

"Only for a little bit. It's alright John, trust me." Masako stopped momentarily at a junction, than halted completely.

"It's stopped." Noticing John's slightly baffled look, she continued, "The crying's stopped. I wonder why..."

"Let's go back to base." John still felt slightly uncomfortable. They started walking, when Masako stopped yet again.

"Masako?" She was focusing on a point somewhere over his left shoulder.

"Go on without me John."

"Are you sure? That other guy..."

"Go." Even more nervous now he started walking. She watched until he had gone round the corner, and then turned to the figure that was invisible to everyone else. After a moment she paled slightly, then hastened to base.

_The solitary figure muttered something. The other figure nodded and hurriedly backed away from it. The solitary figure turned to the window. Some habits die hard, even after death. It smiled one small smile. Somehow it looked out of place, as though this was someone who rarely smiled._

_"Perfect." Was it's only comment. The ball was already rolling, and it was only a matter of time..._

John walked determinedly. But soon he slowed and glanced over his shoulder. His mind was made up. Very soon he continued walking very determinedly, just in the other direction.

* * *

"Mai tea."

"But you just had a cup!" She protested.

"Tea." Naru said flatly, in a voice that suggested arguing was out of the question. Mai sighed, but stood up.

"Do you think I should bring some for Masako and John? They should be back by the time I get back..."

"They should have been back about ten minutes ago. They're not normally late." Yasuhara said, glancing at his watch.

"On the other hand it's easy to get lost in this maze." Monk pointed out. "Will you be alright Mai?"

"I think by now she could get to the kitchens with her eyes closed." Ayako smiled. "Hey, Naru, would you like me to make tea this time? So Mai can rest."

Naru didn't even look up. "Mai, tea."

"Ok, ok, just proving a point..."

"Hmmph." Mai left base, not bothering to say anything, in case they turned on her. Humming softly, she made her way to the kitchen.

John rushed towards the corridor. He had a strange sinking feeling in his stomach. He skidded round the corner, and his jaw dropped.

"MASAKO!" He shouted.

"John?" She looked relieved to see him, and moved forwards eagerly. That was probably what saved her, as well as John's recitals of the bible. She made a small groaning noise, then crumpled.

"Oh my God," John murmured, then immediately asked for forgiveness. Old habits die hard.

He ran forward, and, slightly overwhelmed, started shouting. In English.

"HELP!" Every word of Japanese had flown out of his head, and he hadn't even noticed.

Mai paused, the hum dying softly in her throat. Had she imagined that? Someone was shouting, but in what language? It sounded like English, but not quite...

John! The tray fell and the china shattered, but Mai hadn't noticed. She sprinted through the maze of corridors, cursing the architect. Finally she found them. She felt sick and woozy. Suddenly standing on two legs was a lot more difficult than usual. She sat down.

"Mai! Thank goodness you're here! Go get Naru!" Then, remembering his upbringing, "Please!" But Mai was looking at him like he was speaking a completely language.

"What?" She said weakly. She only understood 'Mai! Thanks something something here! Something something Naru! Please!'. He was speaking too fast, and his accent was weird.

He realised he was speaking in English, and searched for the words in Japanese.

"Go get Naru!" She nodded and ran off, leaving John yet again on his own, with a silent vigil of ghosts.

She charged into the base, and went straight to Naru. "John... needs help. I can't understand what he's saying!" Then turning even more pale, "Bathroom." And she ran out again.

"What on earth?" Naru jumped up and followed her, with the others just after him. After she had finished Ayako handed her the toothbrush glass filled with water.

"Here, rinse it out." Mai obeyed, then looked at them as though they had gone insane.

"You need to go to John! And..." She trailed off.

"Where is John?" Lin asked urgently. Mai groaned, then stood up and ran off. She ran round the corner, staring at the wall.

"Shit." Yasuhara and Monk both paled. Meanwhile Ayako moved forward, her nose wrinkled but otherwise appearing unfazed.

"It just – she, that is... the ghost, I got rid of it but..." John blabbered, still in English.

"What happened John?" Naru asked, also in English.

"The ghost grabbed the table and... and..." He gulped and demonstrated with his hand, before fainting.

"She's alive. Bou-san, Yasuhara is there a medical kit somewhere?" Ayako asked briskly.

"Yeah, in the kitchen."

"And Brown-san might need a glass of water." Lin said quietly.

"Er, right." They both gladly went to the kitchen.

"Where's Naru? And Mai?" Ayako looked around.

"Ambulance." Ayako blinked. Sometimes it seemed as though Lin could read minds. Lin almost said that he couldn't, but preferred to remain silent. Luckily at that moment Yasuhara returned bearing the first aid kit and glass of water before running out again.

"I think I'm gonna be sick..."

"God, I hope that ambulance comes soon, there's not much I can do! I'm not even a doctor!" Her voice rose.

"Um, it's alright?" Lin tried.

"What if she dies? Masako, please don't die!"

"She won't, don't worry." Lin said calmly. John groaned.

"Oh, John's coming round... I think you might want to give him the glass of water. Are you okay John? Oh! We can't move her until the ambulance comes..."

"Oh." He said weakly. "Will she... you know?"

"She'll be alright."

* * *

SPR had a hard time convincing the police that the supernatural was responsible for the attack on Masako, to put it mildly. Kawatake was fairly liberal and open minded, except for where attempted murder was concerned. And he was not a happy bunny.

"So, you're followed by a suspicious ghost, you leave her alone for about ten minutes, you come back, there's a table aiming at her head but luckily it misses and you drive the ghost away." He said sceptically.

"If John had wanted to kill Masako, why would he then scream for help?" Yasuhara pointed out.

"Not to mention he looked as shocked as the rest of us." Ayako joined in.

"And what would his motive be? We all like Masako, and John's the nicest out of all of us."

Kawatake sighed. "Look, you need to co-operate here. I can't put in the official report that a ghost tried to kill Hara-san."

"But it did!"

"And how would that look?" He shut his notebook. "Because all I need now is to lose my reputation as well." He muttered.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing. Okay, are you _sure_ you saw the table flying?" He asked John. At this point Naru stepped forward.

"As I'm sure you can see, my colleague is not really up to questioning at the moment. He may be a little bit confused due to the shock. I'm sure what he really meant was that she had already been hit when he arrived, and he spotted the dropped table with blood on one leg and made the connection. Maybe he is mixing his imaginings with what he really saw."

"Naru-chan, you-!"

"Uhuh... And did your 'not up to questioning colleague' see anyone?"

"But you _know_-!"

"I don't think so." He gave the rest of his group a silencing glare.


	7. Words

The Spider's Web

Words

Naru led the group back to the base.

"We need to exorcize this spirit ASAP. Bou-san and John I want you to go through all of the rooms- (Monk immediately opened his mouth to complain) – yes, Bou-san _all_ of the rooms. The rest of you, don't go anywhere without at least someone else. Mai and Yasuhara make sure you're with someone who can protect themselves and you."

"I can protect myself!" Mai said, offended. Naru stared at her for moment then moved on.

"Ayako, are there any trees here that you could use?"

"Not enough for a full cleansing."

"Oh well. Ayako, you and Yasuhara can go through the rooms with a clipboard and thermometer, I want readings on all of the rooms before and after they are cleansed."

"What about me?" Mai asked, noticing that she was the only person without a job assigned.

"You can stay in base."

"What? What will I do?"

"Check that everything is going smoothly, and collect any information to add to the wall. If that's too difficult for you-"

"It's fine. I'm not stupid." She said angrily.

"Good." The others left as Mai threw herself at a chair, mumbling insults under her breath towards her narcissistic jerk of a boss. Then she realised that her narcissistic jerk of a boss wasn't going anywhere.

"Why are you still here?"

"I would hardly leave you on your own, especially as you're so prone to being attacked by ghosts."

"But what about Lin-san?" She realised that he wasn't there. She twiddled with the ends of her cardigan, bored already.

"How come you can speak English?" She asked after a lengthy silence.

"I'm half English." Naru said quietly. Mai looked at him surprised. Technically there was no reason why he shouldn't be half English. There were loads of half foreign people in Japan. And it would explain the blue eyes and pale skin.

"Why didn't you tell us before?"

"Is it necessary for anyone to know? Anyway, nobody asked."

Mai was silent, realising that actually there were lots of things she didn't know about Naru. She opened her mouth.

"…"

"You're catching flies Mai."

"Naru… the screens…" She crossed the room to where the monitors were. Naru followed her. He surveyed them in silence then quickly left the room. Mai followed him into the corridor.

"Naru? Where are you going?" She jogged to catch up with him.

"Obviously I'm going to check a camera."

"_Obviously_." Mai muttered.

About five minutes later they came across one. Naru knelt down and checked it. After a while he stood up again and walked onwards.

"Well?"

"Nothing seems to be wrong with it. Apart from the fact that it won't turn on."

"Maybe…" Mai started, but then stopped.

"What Mai?"

"Could there be a problem with the monitors?"

"All of them? And if there was the camera would be on."

"But then what-?"

"Unless…"

"What?"

"Come on Mai." He led them back the way they had come and into base. He picked up a spare camera and gave it to her.

"Take out the battery." He ordered before going over to the desk. She opened the compartment.

"Uh, Naru, there is no battery." She looked up to see him rummaging behind the screens.

"Try another one."

Mai obediently opened another camera. It was completely devoid of battery.

"This one doesn't have a battery either. What are you doing?" She asked.

"What does this look like?" Naru asked, brandishing a black strip of plastic.

"A wire."

"And…?"

"I don't know. Noodles?"

"Don't be silly. What's wrong with it?"

"Er…" She took the wire from his hand and inspected it. Suddenly realisation dawned on her. "It's been cut!"

"Well done." He rolled his eyes.

"Are they all like that?"

"As far as I can see."

"But that means…"

"We're going to have to do this the old fashioned way." Naru said grimly.

* * *

Lin finished checking the cameras. The house was completely silent, and slightly eerie. Well, he knew what the problem was. He had better go and tell Noll.

Suddenly, out of nowhere hands wrapped around his throat. Lin scratched at them, but whoever it was was stronger than him. Chocking he whistled and his shiki twisted into the air. They swirled around him but did not attack.

Ah. That meant it was a person. Damn. He mentally sighed.

He kicked the person's leg out, dragging them down, unfortunately on top of him. Luckily the fall made them loosen their grip and he grabbed their hand, twisting it round so that now their other hand scratched at his. He shifted them off of him and froze. His eyes widened in shock.

A square pattern of cuts embedded themselves in his side and he cried out. He rolled out of the way just in time; he could feel the hot wind on his face as the cuts hit his assailant.

* * *

John splashed the holy water at the room.

"Amen." He finished. He looked around to see Monk coming in from his cleansing from the room next door.

"Yasu, Ayako you can…" He called as he entered, then his voice died away. "Where are they?" He asked John.

"I thought they were with you."

"Nope. They measured my room first."

"Maybe they've gone back to base."

"Yeah, maybe they ran out of paper or something."

They were silent for a moment.

"This feels bad." John said. "It's like Masako all over again."

"I'm sure it's fine." Monk said, though he didn't sound convinced.

* * *

Yasuhara cried out. Suddenly the dead, sullen look in his eyes vanished. He rolled onto his back. There was a crunching, and he immediately rolled back onto his side.

"My glasses!"

"We'll worry about them later." Lin said, jumping up.

"Lin-san? What am I doing here? And why am I on the floor?"

"Long story."

"Ah, well that's all cleared up then." Yasuhara said irritably.

"Right now we've got more important things."

Ayako was advancing, her hands raised again. She started chanting tonelessly.

"Distract her!" Lin whispered in Yasuhara's ear.

"Brilliant. _I'm _the one who has the most chance of getting hit with some horrible tree spell." He muttered, but got up.

"Er, hey, Ayako. Over here!" The emotionless eyes fixed on Yasuhara. She finished chanting. Yasuhara ducked and the curse flew over his head, breaking a mirror on the wall behind him.

"Oops." He muttered. Ayako started chanting again, only she never finished this time, as Lin knocked her out. She crumpled onto the floor.

"Can you teach me to do that?" Yasuhara asked, but Lin didn't reply.

"Where's Brown-san?" Lin asked.

"Last I remember we were on the first floor somewhere on the east side, in one of the bedrooms."

"Go and get him."

"Er, on my own?"

"Yes."

"Right." Today was definitely not a good day.

* * *

"Soo, we're just gonna wait for the others to come back?" Mai asked, watching her legs swing back and forth.

"We wouldn't be able to find them in this maze." Said Naru, also watching Mai's legs.

"I'll call them." Mai dug her phone out of her pocket. She turned her phone on. "Naru, it's not turning on."

He held out his hand. She handed him the mobile. Frowning, Naru searched for his, it was dead as well.

"Mai, come over here." He ordered, feeling a sudden surge of protectiveness towards the tiny girl. Mai connected the dots, gasped and scurried over to him.

"Where is it?"

"I don't know Mai. I'm not a medium."

"There could be nothing…"

"On the other hand, there could be something." They waited in silence as the air turned icy. Their breath glowed in the diming light. There was a scratching behind them, and Naru spun round while putting Mai behind him.

The line etched into the wall, digging into the plaster slowly, as though it was resisting. Mai squinted in the dark. The characters got fainter as they continued. Vaguely she could see a woman with a faint, watery figure carving into the wall.

"Excuse me?" She asked, advancing slowly on the woman. Naru followed her. She looked up furtively. As she saw Mai peering at her with wide eyes she smiled.

"Mai…" The voice was no more than a shadow gently caressing the air.

"You know my name." Mai said, not particularly surprised. The woman smiled and nodded.

"My daughter's…. Mai…" She looked sad for a moment.

"I'm so sorry." The woman looked away. Suddenly she turned back and stared at Mai straight in the eyes.

"Leave. Go. Disappear."

"Why? What's here?" Mai questioned, but she just shook her head.

"Please." She whispered, her eyes filled with a tremendous sadness.

"Tell me what's here with you?"

The woman opened her mouth, a determined glint in her eye. Suddenly she screamed, her eyes wild, and vanished. Mai clamped her hands over her ears and collapsed, but Naru caught her.

"Mai? Mai? What is it?" Naru asked, sincerely worried for her. But Mai couldn't hear him.

The scream was reverberating in her ears, blocking out all other sounds. It was coming from inside her. Suddenly it ended, leaving Mai unable to hear anything. She watched Naru mouth something, without understanding, as her sound gradually filtered back.

"What is it?" Naru asked again.

"The scream…" Mai said quietly.

"Who were you talking to?" Naru asked, and Mai realised that he couldn't see any of it.

"A woman."

"What did she say?"

"You couldn't hear her either?" Mai asked, surprised.

"Would I be asking you if I had?"

"No need to be grumpy. She said to leave. But she wouldn't say anything else. And… her daughter was called Mai."

"Well, we're not leaving until this case is solved."

Mai looked at her feet, feeling inexplicably sad at this.

"But at what cost?" She murmured.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm just tired." Mai said. Naru watched her carefully, her voice was different. Softer, smoother, slower.

"I'll just go to my room…"

"No. Mai, you have to stay in base. You can go when Ayako returns."

"Okay." Naru took a breath, then realised she hadn't argued back. Something odd was going on. He watched her curl up on the sofa.

"Goodnight, Naru." She said. A watched her for a long moment. A smile played with the corners of her mouth, her hair streaked across her face, her long eyelashes fluttered. She shivered slightly. Sighing Naru took off his jacket and draped it over her, before grabbing a file and starting to read. Her glanced up and almost smiled when he saw her small hand clutching onto the jacket for dear life, while she smiled in her sleep.

"Goodnight Mai."

* * *

**Wow. I haven't updated in like years. First chapter of 2011? I think so.  
oops :) forgive me?**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy.**


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